


Take a Look It's in a Book

by pinkevilbob



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28189719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkevilbob/pseuds/pinkevilbob
Summary: Five times when Jester takes a peak into Caleb's book and one time where he peaks into hers.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49





	Take a Look It's in a Book

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Widojest Server Secret Santa gift to antenna_rae aka Aerial who is super sweet and nice and talented and has gorgeous hair. She requested Jester peeking into Caleb's book and I had a lot of fun writing this one.
> 
> Title comes from the theme song of Reading Rainbow.

Jester tossed and turned in her bed into the tower. Usually, it was so easy to sleep there. Magical cats were after all the best company for a good night's sleep, but no matter what position she was in, Jester just couldn't sleep. She got up with a huff. "I guess there's no sense in trying to fight it. Come on, Mittens, let's see if there's anything worth reading in the library."

Caleb had said that it held nearly every single book he had ever read, so hopefully it held something fun to read and if failing at that, the romance novel about the sailor. If Jester remembered right, it was a fun one.

Silently, Jester floated down to the library with its walls and walls of books. Part of her wished that it contained completely unique books, but even she didn't expect Caleb to have read every book. "Hopefully he's read some good romances," she said to herself.

A sound caught her ear though. At first she thought that it was one of the bigger magic cats purring, but it didn't quite sound right. Jester quietly crept towards the sound partially worried that there was something wrong like an intruder. But Caleb had said that only those who he invited could enter. "Is anyone there?" Jester whispered. The lights were all low and it was so quiet that it didn't feel right to be loud there.

The sound grew louder as Jester approached one of the couches, and she nearly gasped when she discovered the source. It was Caleb snoring away fast asleep on the couch. His arm was draped over the side and he held a book in his hand. Jester covered a giggle at how cute it was. "Cale-" she started to say, but she stopped herself. What if he couldn't go back to sleep if she woke him up? Caleb didn't rest enough as it was. Or eat enough. Or really take care of himself enough. He was always busy taking care of everyone else and making sure that they were okay. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made his tower.

Jester picked up his book and looked at the page it was left open on. " _However, if we follow the logic of Mordenkainen, then all that transmutation is is the reorganization of the building blocks of nature. Which is a workable theory, but that does not account for Leomund's research on-_ " Jester frowned at the book. No wonder Caleb had fallen asleep reading it.

Tutting at the dull tome, Jester undid the pink ribbon on her horn and slipped it into the book as a bookmark. Mittens rejoined her with a chirp. "You'll tell Caleb to return this to me when he wakes up, won't you?" Jester asked.

The cat merowed.

"Thanks," Jester said and then frowned again at Caleb. "Do you think you and the other cats can take Caleb back to his room without waking him?"

Mittens circled the couch and then shook his head.

"Oh, thanks anyways. Can you get him some blankets and pillows then?" Jester asked.

Mittens meowed and then disappeared into the hole in the wall and a minute later was followed by several other cats carrying pillows and blankets. The cats made fast work of tucking Caleb in. One of the medium sized cats snuck under Caleb's head and stood up allowing another cat to slip a pillow under it. A third and fourth were nosing the blankets in under Caleb making sure he was tightly covered.

Jester grinned at the sight of it all making a mental note to draw a picture of it in her journal to the Traveler. "Thank you." She paused. "Oh, can you go get Frumpkin?"

"Roowww," Frumpkin meowed appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

"Frumpkin! I have important job for you," Jester said softly. "Can you keep Caleb company while he sleep? You know make sure he sleeps well?"

Frumpkin gave a business-like kitty nod and then curled up on his master's chest. Caleb gave out a contented sigh and snuggled deeper into the couch.

"Goodnight," Jester whispered. And before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and kissed his brow.

"Mmm, goodnight," Caleb mumbled halfway still asleep before curling towards the couch.

A blush crept over Jester's cheek. She was definitely going to have to draw this.

* * *

Caleb frowned at his book. The darkness was growing around their campfire and he was finding it harder and harder to read. The others were quietly talking while Caduceus was cooking something for dinner. It smelled good, but it just added to his distraction.

"Here Caleb," Caduceus said haning Caleb a bowl and a mug of tea.

"Oh, danke," Caleb said. He was still holding his book and tried to keep it while taking the bowl and mug, but it was proving difficult. With a sigh, Caleb set his book down and took his dinner.

Caduceus smiled and returned to his pot.

Caleb took a sip of tea before putting it down next to his book. He took a spoon full of stew and blew on it trying to cool it.

"Whatcha reading Caleb?" Jester asked. She leaned over and picked up his book before he could protest. A frown furrowed her face. " _Do hast mick_? Cay-leb! How can you read this?"

"It's Zemnian. My first language," Caleb pointed out, fighting the urge to cringe at her pronunciation. He took a bit of his stew and despite his best efforts still burned his tongue.

Jester nodded thoughtfully and then grinned mischievously. "Oh, now I know how to read it. _Du hast mick_ big Zemnian word _und ick hab' nich-ts_ another big Zemnian word.”

"Ah, yes, that's exactly what it says," Caleb said chuckling.

"I'm very smart, Caleb you know that. Of course I can read it," Jester said.

Caleb smiled at her smirking slightly. "And do you understand what it says?"

Jester sunk down a little frowning. "No, but I can read it."

"Ja, ja you can. Perhaps I can translate it for you," Caleb said.

She leaned forward. "Really? What did I say?"

"You said that you are a silly goose and a charming one at that."

"Cay-leb!" Jester pouted. "I'm not being silly. What did I say?"

Caleb put his bowl down and took the book back. "Well, this is a book of rather depressing poetry."

Jester nodded. "Well, it is Zemnian, what else would it be?"

"There's romantic Zemnian poetry." Back when he was young and went by a different name, Caleb would recite it to Astrid.

"Really?" Jester perked up, getting her smile back. "Can you recite some for me?"

A blush crossed Caleb's face. "What? Now?"

"Yeah! I mean if you'd like to that is," Jester said, pulling back slightly.

Caleb cleared his throat nervously. "I, I could do it for you, I suppose.” He cleared his throat again trying to buy himself more time before starting. “ _Oh, du bist so schön_  
 _Schön wie ein Diamant_  
 _Ich will mit dir gehen_  
 _Komm, gib mir deine Hand_."

"And what does that mean?"

"It’s about a man who wants to hold the hand of the woman he loves," Caleb said.

Jester cocked her head to the side. "And did he get to hold it?"

Caleb shrugged, ducking his head down. "I don't know. It's hard to tell."

"I think he did," Jester said.

"You do?" Caleb asked.

"Yep," Jester said nodding. "I think if you put your feelings out, say in a poem, and if they like you then things should work out.”

Caleb set the book down again. "It's just poetry. It doesn't do anything."

"But it says that you're thinking of someone," Jester said. "I think that means something."

"Maybe," Caleb said.

Jester picked up the book again. "Maybe. And maybe someday someone will write poetry for me."

"You deserve it," Caleb said softly, not daring to say it too loudly.

"What was that?" Jester asked.

Caleb shoved a too hot bite of stew in his mouth. "Nothing, nothing. Perhaps we can find you a book of poetry in Common later."

A grin crossed Jester's face. "I'd like that and maybe you can read it to me."

Between his blushing and the hot stew, Caleb had a feeling his face wasn't going to cool down that night.

* * *

Caleb sat on the edge of his chair. The tavern was loud and busy that night, but it all melted away as he read. He had expected the book to be trite and ridiculous, but for all the absurdity of the supposedly 'true' tale, Sir Tary Darrington knew how to weave an exciting story that was hard to put down. Honestly, Caleb didn't know why Pumat was complaining about it.

' _That was when I knew that Vox Machina truly needed me. I took my Rod of Mercurial Form and-_ ’

The page ended and Caleb started to turn it.

"Caleb! Wait! I haven't finished that page yet!" Caleb nearly jumped a foot and then turned to see Jester hovering over his shoulder. Her eyes were glued hungrily to the book. "Okay, now you can turn to the next one."

He stared at her. "What?"

"The next page, Caleb," Jester said. "We need to see what Tary does to save the day this time."

"Ja, but what are you doing?" Caleb asked.

Jester rolled her eyes. "Reading," she said like it should've been obvious.

Caleb nodded since that much was clear. "But wouldn't it be easier for you to read one of your own books?"

"I've read them all already though," Jester said. "Three times. I haven't read this one yet though."

"You could wait for me to finish this one?"

Jester sighed. "Yeah and wait forever."

"I am a very very fast reader," Caleb said. "I'll have this done in two hours."

"That's forever. Caleb, it's very boring here tonight," Jester said. She draped herself over his shoulder, and he could hear his heart hammering in his ears.

Caleb gulped. "Ah, I see. Perhaps you can sit next to me and we could read it together."

Jester jumped up. "That'd be great." She practically skipped over to the chair next to him and scooted it as close to him as she could. "We're on the next page."

"Ja, right," Caleb said. Her perfume, the lavender oil from her mother that she'd put on for special occasions or home-sick nights, danced about him making it hard to focus on the book. "The next page." He turned the page, but couldn't read a single word of it. Instead his mind was focused on Jester and how natural closeness of her.

"Next page," Jester said once she'd read the pages they were on.

Mechanically, Caleb turned the page. The next hour went on that way; Caleb unable to read and Jester telling him when to turn the page. They managed to get through two chapters that way before Jester yawned exaggeratedly.

"I should go to bed, but that was a super good book Caleb. Thanks for sharing it," Jester said.

"You're welcome," Caleb said. "If you want, we could do this again." It was a forward request, but Caleb couldn't resist the possibility of spending another evening so close to her.

Jester grinned awkwardly as she stood up. "Are you sure? I wasn't too distracting or slow or anything?"

"Nein. You were fine." Just the perfect amount of distracting.

* * *

The waves of the surf danced around Jester's feet as she splashed about. The beaches of Nicodranas spread out behind her and she couldn't picture a better day. Seagulls cried above as they flew lazy circles.

"Be careful!!" Veth screamed for the eighth time as Luc and Jester played in the water. Yeza patted her shoulder and said something to her, but they were too far away for Jester to hear them.

"I AM!" Luc shouted back. He was stomping in the water along with Jester and was doing a good job at getting her wet.

Jester laughed. "Maybe it's time for us to dry off a little and get a snack?"

Luc pouted a little and then nodded. "Do you think we can get some shaved ice?"

"I hope so," Jester said as they made their way back to his parents. "There's the best stall not too far from here."

"What's not too far from here?" Veth asked.

Luc gave his best puppy dog eyes. "Shaved ice. Can we get some?"

Yeza frowned giving it some thought. "Well, it is close to your din-"

"Of course," Veth said. "It gets you away from that terrible water."

"Oh, okay then," Yeza said, deflating a little.

"Can you grab me some too?" Jester said.

Veth nodded. "What flavor?"

"Rainbow!" Jester said. It had been too long since she last had shaved ice.

"Lemon, for me please," Fjord said.

Veth rolled her eyes. "Who said we were going to get you any?"

"Well, I suppose we can get some for everyone," Yeza said. "Jester, can you ask Caleb for his order?"

"Sure!" Jester skipped over to the towel where Caleb spread out reading. She leaned over and caught the title of the book. "CALEB! IS THAT TUSK LOVE!!??"

Caleb jumped nearly a foot in the air and accidentally threw his book. "AAAHHH!" He rolled over and then his face relaxed. "Oh, Jester, it's you. You gave me a scare there."

Jester smirked. "I'm super sneaky Caleb. Blessing of the Traveler."

"Ja, I noticed," Caleb said.

"So, you're reading Tusk Love. How are you liking it? Do you have a favorite character? Part? Have they gotten to the boats yet?" Jester asked, eager to talk about her favorite book.

Caleb sighed and shook his head a little. "I've read it before, but ja, I'm enjoying it. It's easy to read."

"So readable," Jester agreed. "But what's your favorite part?"

"Hmm, I suppose I liked the part where Guinivere confessed to her parents how she feels. Her mother was so kind," Caleb said.

Jester nodded. She preferred Guinivere's and Oskar's first kiss, but the scene with her parents was good too. "She was! Hey, Caleb? Was your mom kind? Like the mom in the book?”

Caleb’s face fell and he looked away.

“Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” Jester stared down at her feet.

“Nein, it’s fine. She was a very kind woman. I wasn’t as good of a son as she deserved,” Caleb said.

Jester nearly grabbed his hand, but she stopped herself. “I don’t think she would’ve thought that. I think that if she was as good as you say she was, she loved you very much no matter what.”

Caleb opened his mouth like he was about to say something when Beau shouted, “Hey! What does Caleb want?!”

“Oh right, what kind of shaved ice would you like?” Jester asked.

“Blueberry,” he said softly.

Jester turned back to Beau. “Blueberry!!” She looked back at Caleb. “Huh, you keep choosing that flavor. You must like blueberries a lot.”

“Ja, I suppose you can say I do.”

* * *

The tea cup steamed in Caleb’s soot stained hands. Notes of lavender and peppermint rose with the steam. Caleb breathed it in, letting the tea relax him. It had been a long week and he was in need of something to relax his nerves. He'd spent half the day in the xhorhouse writing in his book that he kept secret tucked close to his heart. Without thinking, he patted his holster where he kept it only to hit his shirt instead of the familiar cover.

All the blood left his face and Caleb could feel himself grow even paler than usual. He’d left his book out on his desk. Hurrying back to his study, Caleb ran down the halls of the Xhorhouse hoping that no one had found it. But when he returned to his study, Jester was there, a look of concern covering her face.

She was reading an open book on his desk and Caleb knew exactly which one it was. His stomach fell. He knew he had written mostly in Zemnian in it, but that didn’t stop him from worrying.

"Caleb?" Jester asked. Her voice was so small and scared. It broke his heart to hear her like that. "Are you okay?"

"Ja, fine," he said, trying to ignore the hammering of his heart. Hopefully she hadn't found anything too incriminating.

Jester smiled but it was weak and didn't reach her eyes. "Ah, that's good. I just found this book and well, I couldn't read most of it, but-" She held it up a finger under a line.

_I'm afraid._

The only line on the entire page that was in Common, scrawled on the side of it.

"Are you okay? Do you need our help? I can fight anything that you’re afraid of," Jester said standing up straight jutting out her chin.

"I am well aware of that," Caleb said. "You are the strongest of us after all."

Jester grinned slightly. "I mean I'm not as strong as Yasha."

"Then the most unstoppable. You've done things that most clerics or anyone could dream of."

She laughed a little. "I wouldn't say that."

Caleb shook his head. "I would." Gently, he took his book from her and closed it.

Jester's eyes were wide as she stared up at him, her lips slightly parted. If he was any other man, a man that was actually worthy of her, it would've been the perfect moment to kiss her, but he wasn't. He was merely Caleb Widogast.

"I'm grateful for your concern, Jester. Truly, but there is nothing for you to worry about. That was an old entry," he said. "From before we met." That part was a lie, but she didn't need to know that.

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "Ja, it was. I'm not afraid anymore. Not with you by my side."

Jester eyed him for a long moment. "Really?"

"Really. With you here, my old fears aren't as loud," Caleb said. That was mostly due to his new fears drowning them out, but even those were quieter when Jester smiled.

"Then maybe I should spend more time around you, Caleb," Jester said. It should've been a joke, but she sounded so serious when she said it.

Caleb could feel his face growing hot, but he nodded anyways. "I'd be grateful for that."

* * *

Jester wrapped the blanket tightly around herself. It had been too long of a day of adventuring, and all she wanted was to relax and read her book. A thump sounded softly on the back of the couch. She looked up to see Caleb leaning on it. "Hi Caleb," she said.

He stared distantly and then shook himself out of his funk. "Oh sorry, hello Jester."

"What are you doing?" Jester asked. She had decided to read in the salon since the effort of floating up to her room felt like too much.

"What am I doing?" Caleb repeated back. "I was... I don't know. Looking for a distraction I suppose." Dark circles ringed his eyes and he seemed unspeakably tired even for him.

Jester nodded. "I can understand that." She lifted up her book slightly. "That's why I grabbed Zemnian Nights."

"Ah, and you are enjoying it?" Caleb asked.

"I've read it before but yeah. I needed something I could predict," Jester said.

Caleb hummed thoughtfully. "That's good."

"You've read it before too right? That's why it is here, right?"

He nodded.

Jester grinned slightly. "Well, do you want something predictable too?"

"Ja, that sounds nice." Caleb rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's hard sometimes, what we are doing."

"But you think it's worth it too, right?" Jester asked. She didn't want to be alone in thinking that they should save the world.

Caleb nodded. "Of course I do, but it doesn't make it any easier to do."

"Yeah," Jester said softly. "It's not. We could be predictable together, though. I mean we could read a predictable book together."

"That would be nice," Caleb said. "But you don't mind me reading over your shoulder?"

Jester shook her head quickly. "No! I mean, I don't mind at all, but I had a better idea."

Caleb looked at her quizzically. "A better idea?"

"Yeah, sit down, sit down." Jester unwrapped her blanket and scooted to the side of the couch. She patted the seat next to her.

Awkwardly, Caleb sat down next to her.

In one fast motion, Jester swept the blanket over Caleb and tugged him close to her so they were both snuggled close together. For good measure, she wrapped her tail around his waist as well. "Now we're both comfy."

"J-ja, comfy." Heat emanated from Caleb, but blushing was normal for him.

"Good, now you've read to me before, so today it's my turn to read to you," Jester said a wide grin on her face. "Would you like that?"

Caleb was stiff at first, but then he relaxed. "Ja, I would."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so the 'Zemnian poetry' Jester read was the lyrics of Du Hast by Rammstein and what Caleb recited was the german version of the Beatles "I want to hold your hand".


End file.
